Shocking figures have recently been published not only as for Ukrainians who have left their fatherland due to the war, but also about a senior Ukrainian official who spent a third of the year travelling abroad. I can tell you in advance that this is not about Volodymyr Zelensky.
But before we jump into a discussion of the latest scandal in Ukraine, let’s first take a closer look at these shocking statistics.
According to the latest report of the Ukrainian-based Centre for Economic Strategy (CES) which was published in March, as of January 2024, 4.9 million Ukrainians who fled their country due to the war are living abroad. The overwhelming majority of refugees are women and children. Between 1.4 and 2.3 million people may remain outside Ukraine permanently.
The largest share of Ukrainian refugees in Europe is in Germany (30%) and Poland (22%). Outside of Europe, the largest countries in terms of the number of Ukrainians accepted since February 2022 are the United States (280,000), the United Kingdom (253,200) and Canada (210,200). The CES estimates that between 1.4 million and 2.3 million Ukrainians could remain outside Ukraine in various scenarios.
In addition to the above facts, the report of the CES claims that many countries are gradually reducing spendings on refugees.
And now that we have presented this frustrating picture of Ukrainians who have fled Ukraine due to the war and intend to stay abroad in the future, let’s focus on a Ukrainian politician who spends a significant part of his time away from Ukraine while being part of a state apparatus which is committed to continuing the war, and whose family lives abroad on a permanent basis.
Early April, Ukrainian newspaper Ukrainska Pravda reported that, according to the 2023 declaration of Ukraine’s Prosecutor General Andriy Kostin and other documents, last year, Kostin spent 103 days abroad on official trips – half of them to the United States, where his wife lives. This is almost 30% of the calendar days in the year. Kostin’s 2023 declaration states that his wife Olga works and rents an apartment in the U.S.
In response, the Prosecutor General’s Office said in a statement that in 2023-2024, Kostin’s visits abroad ’contributed to the signing of crucial agreements, the investigation of war crimes committed against Ukraine, and the provision of assistance to our country in this process’.
It should be added that one day before the article about Kostin’s foreign trips has been published in Ukrainska Pravda it was revealed that the Presidential Office was discussing the possible dismissal of Kostin. (Unconfirmed rumours emerged back in February 2024 that Kostin might be sent as an ambassador to the UK.)
Later, the Prosecutor General’s Office has published its detailed response to information about Kostin. The Office claimed that Kostin’s official trips lasted 79 days, from which he spent 22 full days in the United States. A total of 224 meetings and events were held with his participation during 13 trips, the Office added.
To give a more comprehensive picture, it is worth mentioning that while Kostin’s wife Olga lives in the United States, their two children, daughter Anastasiya and son Misha spend their time in Monaco and travel all around Europe. This is what war means to the Kostins.
Sources:
Ukrainian refugees. Future abroad and plans for return. The third wave of the research – Centre for Economic Strategy (ces.org.ua)
https://www.pravda.com.ua/eng/news/2024/04/5/7449896/
https://www.pravda.com.ua/eng/news/2024/04/6/7450029/
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